


Fire Extinguisher

by badwolfrun



Series: Nick/Greg Ficlets [7]
Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: Ficlet, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post Grave Danger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-06 20:09:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17946302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badwolfrun/pseuds/badwolfrun
Summary: Nick and Greg go to see the movie "Ant-Man" and Nick has a bit of trouble with the movie.





	Fire Extinguisher

**Author's Note:**

> Prompted by dannilea on tumblr, who sent this ask probably not expecting a ficlet, but got one anyway.

He had been studying entomology for the past few years; partially in honor of his mentor, Gil Grissom, and partially as a sort of exposure therapy. He could handle tarantulas, beetles, maggots, the whole lot, but there was just something about ants that still got under his skin, though he’d be caught dead before he would ever admit that.

So when Greg asked if he wanted to go see a movie with him, of course he said yes. Their relationship was on the mend, and he wanted to do anything and everything he could do with Greg Sanders. 

Though he did hesitate when Greg told him the title of the movie they would be seeing, “Ant-Man.”

Part of him knew it was a bad idea, seeing a movie that revolves around a man who can shrink down the size of an ant, and interact with said ants, based on the trailer he watched so he could make sure that he could handle it. 

He was actually enjoying the movie, until Paul Rudd wakes up in a bed, and freezes as he sees a floor  _completely covered_ in ants. 

He had a nightmare like that once, and in that moment, that was all he could think about. He could feel his hands tense in the armrests in the seat. He could hear his breathing become more labored. He shut his eyes, in an effort to hold back the scream that was building inside of him at the memory of a similar swarm of ants that were not just on the floor, they were  _all over his body_.

He tried, he tried  _so hard_ but he couldn’t fight back the urge to run, because the air in the room was suddenly growing thin, the walls in the theater were closing in, he became hyper-aware of just how  _full_ the seats were around him...and the room was becoming enveloped in green.

He bolted out of his seat and walked briskly out of the theater, scanning for the first possible exit out of the building. He would text Greg that he went to the bathroom and threw up, and that he was going to grab a cab home--

_Oh wait, that wouldn’t work, I drove us here..._

Nick pushed the glass door, inhaling the cool night air as if all of the oxygen had just been drained out of his body. He paced back and forth, thinking of other possible excuses to give to Greg. He felt so stupid, he should be over all of this  crap by now, it was over ten years ago, he should be able to sit in a damn movie theater and watch a work of fiction. He should be able to fall into that escape, fall into the world of the movie where he is not Nick Stokes, where he’s an unseen observer of this world of superheroes.

But instead here he was, Nick Stokes, falling into a world of nightmares, of painful memories from over a decade ago.

He dug his phone out of his pockets, to just write a short “sorry” to Greg before taking a very long walk, when the door opened behind him.

Nick wiped his face and sniffled, avoiding Greg’s eyes. 

“Thought you maybe went to the bathroom or something...But then, I realized...”

“It’s okay, man,” Nick blurted out quickly. “Gimme a minute, you can go back in.”

“Nah, it’s alright, I read the reviews already, it’s a terrible movie, we’re not missing anything.”

Nick couldn’t hold back his laughter.

“I highly doubt that, Greggo, based on how much you’ve been laughing. Seriously, go, watch the movie--”

“Really, Nick, it’s okay, we can go do something else--”

“It’s  _fine, Greg!”_ Nick spat out, looking at Greg directly. Greg pursed his lips and crossed his arms. Nick shook his head and went back to pacing.

“I just...It’s been ten years.  _Ten years.”_

“I know.”

“I should be over it by now!”

“I know.”

“And I’m...I’m not...” Nick trailed off, swallowing a sob rising in his chest. Greg put a hand on his shoulder, which initially sent a shiver down Nick’s spine, before he leaned into Greg, who was now embracing him completely.

“Come on, let’s go watch something else...Like ‘Birdman’” Greg whispered into Nick’s ear. 

“I see what you did there, G,” Nick whispered back and they fell into a fit of giggles. They walked hand in hand back to Nick’s car, until Greg realized they left their soda and popcorn in the theater and ran back to get it.

Nick watched as Greg ran off, and couldn’t help but smile when he saw him jogging back moments later with an armful of theater food. 

Later that night, Nick had a nightmare, of crawling and biting and burning. But the crawling turned to light petting. The biting turned to soft lips, pressing against his skin. The burning sensation was extinguished, for the second time in his life, by Greg Sanders.


End file.
